I don't get it. My N97 mini is a joke. Poor battery life. Average camera. Buggy. Laggy. Delicate metal surround that looks AWFUL when scratched. Still the same old S60 shoe-horned into a touch UI with all those redundant menus etc.

People talk about touch UIs like they're a step forward - they're not. They are, at present, a gimmick that actually slows down productivity and day-to-day usage. It's simply faster and easier to use hardware buttons and anyone who says otherwise is in denial due to the hundreds of pounds they've thrown away on substandard devices.

I'll say it again - the best Nokia phone out there at the moment is the N86 8GB. It does absolutely everything that the mini can do (without the hassle of the touch UI) and more. And where they overlap the N86 8MP wins outright.

Talking about the N97 mini as a flagship (just as with the N95, N96 and N97) is beyond ridiculous.

I agree that touch is less usefull than button.
Unfortunately, Nokia button (S60v3) has no nHD screen.
It's the screen size that make me re-think on buying the E72.

.....
I almost buy E72 to replace my aging E61i.
But when I compare it to N97/N97 mini at the Nokia store.
I change my mind.
I decide NOT to buy any nokia at the moment.
nHD screen is a must. 320x240 is not good for browsing
but N97/N97mini doesn't have the E series se*ist appeal.

Again, what's with the idea that touch UI is newer and therefore better? It's clearly not better in the slightest.

And complaining about a dual-slider that actually helps control of media playback in landscape mode is bordering on the insane. It works - why replace it with an interface that a) wasn't designed for touch, b) is slow and c) hinders day-to-day usage?

One development of these phones (and Nokia S60 phones in general over the past ~2 years), that I really don't like, is that they been cutting down the C drive storage, where all the important stuff are stored.

N95 had 160MB, N96 had 80MB and N97 had 50MB.
E51 had 130MB and the E52 got 60MB.

Why on earth do Nokia cut down on the C drive storage!? I would say that only having 60MB of storage on the C drive is my biggest issue with the E52.

Again, what's with the idea that touch UI is newer and therefore better? It's clearly not better in the slightest.

And complaining about a dual-slider that actually helps control of media playback in landscape mode is bordering on the insane. It works - why replace it with an interface that a) wasn't designed for touch, b) is slow and c) hinders day-to-day usage?

It's not really a question of better or worse, as both have their advantages and disadvantages; they are simply different. There are clearly situations/actions for which a phone having buttons is the better device, while there are others for which a touch-screen offers certain advantages.

I have an E90 and an iPod Touch; both are great devices, but I don't use my iPT as a PDA as a) I don't need to and b) I don't like typing on the on-screen keyboard. I for one can not see myself buying a new phone which does not have a physical QWERTY keyboard...

As a user you have to decide what is more important to you, make your decision, and, most importantly, don't let anyone else tell you that you've made the wrong choice...

The worst non-touch -> touch interface in the history of computing - 5xfail.

The N97 isn't bad, and to be honest neither is the N96.

However its the N95 that will stand the test of time.

I'm now thinking of selling on my N85, and going back to the well worn, but ultimately better N95-1.

The camera is *not* the same on the two, even though they're "Carl Zeiss 5mp units". Actual image quality is better on the N95.

Every single time Nokia releases a new product, they appear to start from scratch with the firmware, introducing new bugs. The N85 (on v31) still has SMS sending problems, browser disconnecting from the cellular network, and relatively lousy RF performance. Dual LEDs do not make a darned difference on image quality (stills). It may look better, and the UI may be a little slicker, but the N95 is still "the daddy".

You continuosly write about the not good GPS of the N97 but I think your opinion is based on your defective unit (also after the patch of shielded antenna). For sure, a number of erlier units with defective GPS have been sold but I can assure you that my unit that I bought in October 2009 has no problems. I use it regularly with many softwares (Garmin, OVI maps, google maps, Sportstracker) and it works perfectly (also without AGPS).

About the other aspect of the N97, coming from the N95 (that I loved) I can say that the N97 is much better (better WiFi, data connection, battery life, screen, USB speed, stability and so on).

One development of these phones (and Nokia S60 phones in general over the past ~2 years), that I really don't like, is that they been cutting down the C drive storage, where all the important stuff are stored.

N95 had 160MB, N96 had 80MB and N97 had 50MB.
E51 had 130MB and the E52 got 60MB.

Why on earth do Nokia cut down on the C drive storage!? I would say that only having 60MB of storage on the C drive is my biggest issue with the E52.

I know the answer to this question!!!!
N95 has S60v3 FP1. C drive 256MB, OS were almost 100MB, so it leaves you 160MB.
N96 has S60v3 FP2. C drive 256MB, OS around 170MB, so it leaves you 80MB
N97 has S60v5. C drive 256MB, OS around 200MB, so it leaves you 50MB.

The problem is NOKIA is stupi*ly not upgrading the C drive size. And with current ADVANCE web browser in nokia phone and ever complex web site, the 50MB-80MB is really FAR THAN ENOUGH.

The current N97 mini, E72, X6, 5235_come_with_music has 512MB C drive. This happend because nokia receive complain from the user returning a good load of N97 just because out of memory.... especially while browsing. Although this already a good sign over the 256MB disk they use in the previous model, I still believe Nokia not really serious with their devices. As smartphone becoming smarter we need more RAM. I wanna listen to music while web browsing and use the GPS. I wanna use the GPS then find information on the web, and I might want to open a couple of web tabs to track several things at once. For example, hotel list, restaurant list, etc....

I'm a longtime nokiafan. in recent years I had the N73, the N82 and the N97.
The N97 however isn't worth its high price...
I've had all kinds of problems with it, from the scratching lens cover to the poor GPS reception...
I sold it about 3 weeks ago and decided to give nokia one more chance...
and boy did they deliver me one hell of a phone, and their one true flagship... The N900.
I've been playing with it for about a week now and every second I get more and more impressed.
This is what the N97 should have been...
sure it doesn't have enough apps yet, but maemo is the shit, let me tell you that.
If you are used to symbian and switch to maemo, you will never want to go back again...
It just works.

I have an N96 and I'm very pleased with it! The d-pad has started to make that 'spongy' sound that a few other people have noticed too, but that's not a problem. =3
I'm not buying into all this touchscreen stuff yet. I have used an iPhone and it was very impressive, but I can't see the technology being practical for me. I prefer physical buttons.

Read the article for what it is before bitching. It's a simple side by side comparison of 3 phones based on their individual specs and builds. The comparisons are completely unbiased and allow for zero fanboyisms. What's the problem?

I know the answer to this question!!!!
N95 has S60v3 FP1. C drive 256MB, OS were almost 100MB, so it leaves you 160MB.
N96 has S60v3 FP2. C drive 256MB, OS around 170MB, so it leaves you 80MB
N97 has S60v5. C drive 256MB, OS around 200MB, so it leaves you 50MB.

The problem is NOKIA is stupi*ly not upgrading the C drive size. And with current ADVANCE web browser in nokia phone and ever complex web site, the 50MB-80MB is really FAR THAN ENOUGH.

Wow, that's depressing. I mean, it's good that the newer drives got a 512MB C drive, but really, when the S60 3rd FP2 devices appeared and gave the user less than 100MB of free storage, at least someone in charge at Nokia should have been thinking "hmmm, this isn't enough, we need to give the devices more storage". But no, it took almost another 2 years for that to happen.

The N95 was a super model but then Nokia did the same as with the N73 make a upgraded model the N95 8gb which is Still the Best Nokia mobile they have released,the N96 did not seem to impress alot of people because of the batterylife on it,the N97 was released to early an to oversized an thats what Nokia realised an released the Mini N97,but not eveyone like Touch Screen Mobiles as the job you have you can not use the mobile with damaging the mobile,the N86 was a bit of a let down from Nokia as the Speakers were wrongly placed an not loud enough an the N86 was a bit to heavy as well,they have all had good cameras on them but the N82 is still the Best camera mobile.just can"t wait to see what Nokia got lined up next a rumour the N87 next with a 12 mega-pixel camera on it with xenon flash hope it right,N95 8gb the Best